Starting a small business can be one of the most exciting, stressful, and thrilling accomplishments of a person’s life. But after taking the initial leap of deciding to actually do it… now what? Whether you’re building a service-based business, selling a consumer packaged good, or offering another type of product entirely, you need to find your best customers and clients. You need to craft your message and selling points. And you need to take up space and garner attention online.
The idea of crafting a digital presence might be completely overwhelming if you’ve never done it before. But with the right tools, some guidance, and a lot of small business owner grit, you can connect with your audience and sell your offering.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the stages of building your online presence so you’re equipped to market and grow your small business for the long haul.
Before you start: Know your message
You know what you offer and why it matters. But before you can build an audience and capture leads or sales, you need to be able to share what you do and how you help people quickly and clearly. For instance, if you offer digital marketing services, you might “help businesses grow.” But that description of your business might be too vague to sway potential clients. Get even clearer about:
- What you do: Google and LinkedIn ads
- Who you help: B2B brands
- How you help: Gain more leads and traffic
These elements are part of your value proposition—your specific offer and why someone would benefit from buying it. This information should live front and center on your website, social media, and other digital channels.
Now, let’s look at a product example. Imagine that you sell a non-stick pan that’s also dishwasher-friendly. Your product might “transform dinner time,” but that doesn’t tell buyers exactly what your product is or does. Zero in on:
- What you do: The best non-stick pan
- Who you help: Busy home chefs
- How you help: Creating their quickest cleanup yet
As your business grows, your value proposition may change or even expand. But starting out, you should be as clear as possible about what you sell, so online visitors instantly know why they should buy. Do this key prep work before you start building your online presence.
Stage 1: Create your website
Once you’re clear about what you do, you can start building your website—this will be the online hub for your small business. Your website offers a central location for potential customers or clients to learn about your business, peruse your products or services, and take next steps. It establishes your brand’s voice, look and feel, and personality, but it’s also the go-to destination for all the rest of your channels—your social media, any ads you run, and physical marketing channels should all drive back to your website.
Luckily, plenty of user-friendly platforms exist to help you with the design and layout of your site:
- Wix offers a beginner-friendly drag-and-drop website builder. Choose from their menu of modules, select a theme and optimized template, and use their AI features to generate images. Create an online store or service portfolio with their tools.
- WordPress has an array of templates and website features for building your website from scratch. The builder includes some advanced and highly customizable options if you’re familiar with CSS or are working with a designer.
- Shopify is one of the top eCommerce platforms with a customizable website builder designed for selling products to consumers. Shopify is a great solution for small businesses that sell both online and offline because it can integrate with point-of-sale systems.
Best practices for your site
No matter what platform you use, start with a clear, foundational structure for your site. It probably includes pages like:
- An inviting, clear, and informative homepage
- Products or services pages where customers can see all that you offer in one place
- Pages to take action by contacting you about your services or purchase products (along with clear touchpoints throughout your site)
Once you’ve built your primary pages, you can create additional targeted landing pages for segments of your audience or to promote subgroups of products or services. For instance, you might:
- Build a landing page for attendees at a pop-up event and link to it from a QR Code.
- Send a targeted email campaign to customers who bought a specific kind of product with a trackable short link to a landing page featuring complementary products.
- Execute an ad campaign that links to a landing page with a “menu” of your services.
This segmented approach to landing pages lets you track traffic and conversions from campaigns and encourages your audience to take the right action for them.
Make sure your site is simple to navigate with a clear, easy-to-follow menu—this is also important for SEO (which we’ll discuss next!). And with more than half of global internet traffic happening on mobile phones, don’t just design your website for desktop users. Use the mobile viewer within your website platform to review what mobile visitors see and remove or rearrange any elements that look out of balance on a smartphone.
Stage 2: Optimize for search
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of making your website or content easier to find via Google, Bing, or their search engine of choice. The SEO world is changing rapidly, especially with the rise of AI overviews and changing search algorithms. But many of the SEO fundamentals still apply—here are a few of the best practices to keep in mind for your website.
Put yourself in your audience’s shoes
One of the most important SEO principles is to consider your audience’s behavior and journey. Think about what they might type into a search engine to find you. What questions or concerns do they have? What needs might they have before they’re ready to buy your product or service and when they have their wallet in hand? Brainstorm these ideas and terms—or better yet, talk to your current or ideal customers.
Build a list of keywords, including:
- Shorter terms that are more general and competitive to rank for (ex: “hair salons in Austin”)
- Long-tail keywords that are nuanced but easier to rank for (ex: “curly hair specialist Austin”)
Next, incorporate your target terms into your website. Do this naturally, and avoid “keyword stuffing”—overusing the keywords your audience might search for on your website in ways that don’t make sense.
Putting yourself in your audience’s shoes is also about the touchpoints you offer in person and online. If you create physical advertisements like flyers, billboards, or business cards at pop-up shops or live events, offer clear, user-friendly ways to take action or engage with you.
Share a QR Code or memorable short link that they can scan or visit to book a meeting, buy a product, or sign up for a newsletter. These touchpoints drive traffic to your site and establish your brand’s authority for search engines. But they also give you data about what resonates most with your audience. Then, you can create content or adjust your positioning to match how they engage.
Optimize for local search
Consider local search when optimizing your website, especially if your business provides in-person services or sells products at brick-and-mortar locations. You want your website to have a prominent place on the search results page specific to your location. Include keyword phrases on your main website pages and content you publish like, “[business type] in [city].” These can boost your ranking and ensure you show up on Google’s list of recommended businesses.
Make sure your Google My Business page is complete and accurate, and recruit happy customers to leave reviews that point others your way. You should also create local-specific landing pages that feature any regional offerings and enhance your SEO by proving your relevance to locals.
Know your numbers
The SEO game changes constantly, so you need to stay close to the data to understand the ongoing shifts. Pay attention to:
- Competitor sites and content
- Search engine result page (SERP) changes
- Traffic on your own site
- Referring channels
- User interactions, bounce rates, and session length
Data and analytics tools help you keep up with these numbers in real time. Your website can reveal some of these details, and SEO tools like Moz or SEMrush can help with understanding keywords and competitive changes. To learn which channels and campaigns are driving traffic and marketing ROI, rely on trackable touchpoints and a flexible analytics tool (like Bitly Analytics) to get the most data possible and adjust your site in response. Stay on top of data and regularly review your site to make your site easier for ideal customers to find.
Stage 3: Shape your social media strategy
Do you love telling the world about your business on Instagram, or does the thought of sharing a post make you start sweating? Or maybe you fall somewhere in between—but no matter what, social media is a non-negotiable marketing tactic for reaching your audience. Your channels of choice help new customers find you, current customers learn about your new offerings, and loyal customers shout you out and provide support.
And don’t worry—your strategy doesn’t have to be complex or involve a ton of spreadsheets. Embrace these guiding principles to build an authentic and effective social media presence.
Brand consistency
Your personal Facebook or Instagram page is an extension and expression of your personality, and it’s the same with your small business. You want your brand’s voice, look and feel, and style to shine in every post—that’s how you strengthen your brand through social. Incorporate your logo and colors whenever possible, whether you’re posting a graphic about an upcoming event or a QR Code to redeem a discount. Sharing a short link to a landing page? Customize it with your domain for an instantly recognizable and trustworthy click.
Value
If you’re stuck on what content to share with your audience on social, remember to always lead with value. Your small business offers a product or service that benefits a specific audience, so share content that helps, informs, or supports that audience. Some of that content should directly promote your business, but much of it needs to offer clear value to the audience. Some use an 80-20 split as a rule of thumb for their social content—80% of posts offer audience-focused value and 20% promote the business. Lean into your customers’ typical journey, and create content that meets them with value, no matter where they are on that path.
Trackability
When you ask your social media followers to take action, you should always measure the success and ROI of those posts and campaigns. Tracking link clicks and other engagement shows you what your audience cares about, which channels are sending traffic to your website, and which offers drive conversions. Share interactive touchpoints with your audience that inspire them to take action, like an instantly scannable QR Code or a short link to a customized landing page where they can choose their own path to browse or purchase. Then, you can use tools like Bitly Analytics to keep tabs on the data from your social media presence and take action to improve your marketing.
Connect across channels with Bitly
Your online presence is one of the most important ways to introduce customers to your brand and build a thriving business. Your website, search strategy, and social channels offer digital touchpoints for audiences who are eager to find their next product or service from their phone or laptop. They’re also the tools to connect with happy customers and stay in touch.
No matter how you reach your audience, user-friendly and convenient touchpoints like memorable short links and easy-to-scan QR Codes make it easy for them to take action. From in-person events to physical ads to emails and social posts, these digital tools drive potential and current customers to your digital storefront. They also help you measure your efforts and make better marketing decisions. Whether your online presence is just getting started or well-established, Bitly’s digital tools will help you capture and keep customers’ attention—get started today.
